Top Items:
Christina Bellantoni / TPMDC:
Dems: Memo On Medicare Changes Isn't Ours — It's A GOP ‘Hoax’ — Democrats today are accusing Republicans of circulating a fraudulent memo that claims to be sent to “Democratic health and communications staff” and which suggests the majority party leadership wants to make big changes to Medicare next year after health care passes.
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Chris Frates / The Politico:
Democrats challenge authenticity of ‘doc fix’ memo — An earlier post in this spot detailed what was purported by Republicans to be an internal Democratic memo regarding the upcoming health reform vote Sunday. Democratic leadership has challenged the authenticity of the memo.
The Politico:
Obamacare threatens U.S. future — Liberals have long dreamed of putting the government in charge of America's health insurance industry. Each time they tried, the American people have stood up and rejected a government takeover of health care. — This is different.
Chicago Breaking Business:
Caterpillar: Health care bill would cost it $100M — A worker at Caterpillar's plant in Mossville, Ill. (José Moré/Chicago Tribune) — Dow Jones Newswires | Caterpillar Inc. said the health-care overhaul legislation being considered by the U.S. House of Representatives …
Discussion:
Hot Air, theblogprof, Time, Political Byline, GOP Leader Blog, Townhall.com, GINA COBB, Big Government, Confederate Yankee, Riehl World View and Maggie's Notebook
Mark Matthews / Orlando Sentinel:
Kosmas to back healthcare reform — WASHINGTON — After days of fence-sitting, U.S. Rep. Suzanne Kosmas of New Smyrna Beach said Friday that she would support a sweeping Democratic plan for healthcare reform that has divided the country even as it aims to bring health insurance to 95 percent of Americans.
Discussion:
Firedoglake, TRAIL BLAZERS, TPMDC, Hot Air, TPM LiveWire, Boston Herald and Washington Post
The Note:
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Shoots Down Rep. Bart Stupak's ‘Fix’ — ABC News' Jonathan Karl reports: Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi was asked about Bart Stupak's suggestion that there could be another bill to address abortion funding and she said, “I haven't heard any of that.”
ama-assn.org:
AMA Supports House Passage of Health System Reform — Will work with Congress and the administration to make critical changes that cannot be addressed through the reconciliation process — For immediate release: — Washington, D.C. - After careful review and consideration …
KDKA-TV:
U.S. Rep. Altmire To Vote Against Health Care Bill — PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ― Congressman Jason Altmire will vote against the latest version of health care reform when the U.S. House of Representatives votes on the bill this weekend. — Altmire confirmed that he has decided to vote …
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Hot Air, The Page, National Review Online, AmSpecBlog and The Corner on National …
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David Dayen / Firedoglake:
New Health Care Whip Count: 193 Yes, 208 No (with Leaners: 203-211); Update 2x: 195 Yes — Update: John Boccieri has just confirmed that he will vote for this bill-that brings the Yes column to 194. — Update 2: Dina Titus gets us to 195 “yes.” — Here's the last one.
Jeffrey T. Kuhner / Washington Times:
Impeach the president? — The ‘Slaughter Solution’ would violate the Constitution — The Democrats are assaulting the very pillars of our democracy. As the debate on Obamacare reaches the long, painful end, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is confronting a political nightmare.
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Suzy Khimm / Mother Jones:
Lynch: Why Obama Didn't Convince Me on Health Care — Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass), who switched from “yes” to “no” on the health reform bill, is insisting that his vote will not kill the legislation, noting that the House Democrats have the votes to pass the measure this weekend without his support.
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Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
Breaking: Ellsworth To Vote Yes — Another big get for Dems: Rep Brad Ellsworth, a former Yes vote who shared the concerns of the Stupak dozen and was intensely wooed by both sides, will vote Yes on the Senate bill, his spokesman confirms to me. — “He's a Yes,” Jonathan Kott …
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John McCormack / Weekly Standard:
Brad Ellsworth Abandons Stupak, Will Vote Yes (UPDATED)
Discussion:
Townhall.com
The Huffington Post:
Reid Promises Separate Public Option Vote In Next Few Months — WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? — Hoping to assuage progressive Democrats who remain disappointed with the content of the health care reform bill, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) committed on Friday to holding a separate vote on a public option in the coming months.
Discussion:
Hot Air, The Hill, Maggie's Notebook, TPMDC, The Washington Independent, The Corner on National … and Riehl World View
Ezra Klein:
Notes on CBO skepticism — My colleague Neil Irwin has a very good piece on the difficulty the Congressional Budget Office has predicting the cost of something complex like the health-care reform bill. But because his piece is coming in the context of a coordinated conservative effort …
Discussion:
YID With LID, The New Republic, Wonk Room, Newsweek Blogs, Washington Post, The Stranger …, Betsy's Page and The Corner on National …
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Ruth Marcus / Washington Post:
On health reform's price tag, score one for skepticism
Discussion:
New York Times, Matthew Yglesias, The Foundry, USA Today, NewsBusters.org, The Corner on National … and The Politico
Capitol Confidential / Big Government:
The Heat is On: Congressman's Office Says Constituent Calls Are ‘Harassment’ — Yesterday, I decided to call Rep. John Garamendi's (CA-10) office in Washington, D.C. He's my representative and I wanted to voice my opposition to the Senate Health Care Bill. I spoke with a female staffer …
Discussion:
The Corner on National …, theblogprof, American Power, Shot in the Dark, Chicago Boyz, Townhall.com and AmSpecBlog
Bruce Bartlett / Forbes:
The Misinformed Tea Party Movement — For an antitax group, they don't know much about taxes. — On March 16 the Tea Party crowd showed up for yet another demonstration on Capitol Hill in Washington. Curious about the factual knowledge these people have regarding the issues they are protesting …
kff.org:
Kaiser Health Tracking Poll — March 2010 — The March Kaiser Health Tracking Poll finds the public still divided on health reform legislation, with 46 percent of Americans backing the reform proposals on Capitol Hill, 42 percent opposing them and 12 percent saying they aren't sure.
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Byron York / Washington Examiner:
GOP: Dems are bluffing, don't have the votes — House GOP whip Rep. Eric Cantor has sent out a brief memo outlining the health care vote count from the Republican perspective. The best way to look at it is not to ask whether Speaker Nancy Pelosi has gotten the 216 votes needed to pass …
Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
SEIU To Yank Support For Arcuri, Will Search For Challenger — It appears SEIU is dead serious about this business about yanking support for House Dems who vote No on the health bill. — The SEIU bluntly informed Dem Rep Michael Arcuri of New York yesterday that it's pulling support …
Ezra Klein:
Twilight of the interest groups — Think back to 1994 for a second. The insurance industry, the pharmaceutical industry, the American Medical Association, the hospital industry and the major business groups ferociously opposed Bill Clinton's health-care reform proposal.
Discussion:
Sadly, No!
Bloomberg:
Federal Reserve Must Disclose Bank Bailout Records — The Federal Reserve Board must disclose documents identifying financial firms that might have collapsed without the largest U.S. government bailout ever, a federal appeals court said. — The U.S. Court of Appeals in Manhattan ruled today …
Jane Hamsher / Firedoglake:
Fact Sheet: The Truth About the Health Care Bill — click for a PDF of our health care reform fact sheet — I'll be on the new CNN show with Jon King that premieres at noon ET, available for live stream here — jh — The Firedoglake health care team has been covering the debate in congress since it began last year.
Megan McArdle / The Atlantic Online:
Democrats Want to Buy Now, Pay Later With Health Care? — I don't want to be overconfident in my predictions, as obviously I'm rather invested in the health care issue. I don't know what's going to happen in November, and to the extent that I do know, it's because I think the broad macro forces simply …
Discussion:
Viking Pundit
David Neiwert / Crooks and Liars:
Beck: Health-care reform will affect America like the bombing of Pearl Harbor — Glenn Beck continued his eliminationist attacks on progressives yesterday with a novel and absurd comparison: … As he was talking, the screen behind him showed the bombs falling on ships at Pearl Harbor and smoke billowing up in their aftermath.
Eric Zimmermann / The Hill:
Top Republican opens investigations into healthcare ‘secret deals’ — The ranking member of the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee is opening an investigation into the “secret deals” that the White House and Democrats made with various healthcare stakeholders.
Brian Aguilar / Wall Street Journal:
A History of Wall Street Journal Hedcuts — When job-seeking illustrator Laura Levy first met the team of Wall Street Journal hedcut artists in the early 1980s, she was struck by their peculiar task. — “I saw what these people were doing and I thought, 'they're insane,'” says Levy.
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